Super Sweet Exercise you Should be doing - Chapter II - Volume II - The Spiderman Push Up

David Fleming

If you don't like Spiderman - then look away now as this is even more painful than to watch the films. However, if you're feeling brave, read on and discover the many benefits of the Spiderman Push Up and learn another great exercise to get you stronger and More-Athletic without using any gym kit.

If you were to look up 'the spiderman' in the urban dictionary you would get a very different description from what I am going to show you. 'The spiderman' is a prone crawling progression that I have used to inject some novelty & heavy sweating into conditioning programs for quite some time now. It’s a great tool for improving dynamic hip mobility, core and shoulder stability and a great general total body workout.

Think of this movement as an advanced push up. Incorporate it when it doesn't increase the threat response in your body (see my Periodisation, Peripheral vision and Range of Motion Testing Article - if you are training) into any kind of workout you like. Personally I like to use it as part of a metabolic circuit where fat loss and conditioning are the goals of the day. Equally it could be used as a superset on more traditional chest and shoulder days or, once you have the technique down, as a cheeky 'finisher'.

To perform the movement assume a push up position with hands and legs little wider than shoulder width. Unlock your elbows and knees and sink down slightly towards the floor. Ensure that you maintain a neutral spine position. Think about elongating through the crown of the head with your chin slightly tucked. As with any movement, perfect form and technique are imperative and not an option!

To initiate the motion, simultaneously reach forward with one arm and opposing leg. The knee of the moving leg should be brought forward towards the elbow of the stationary arm. The toes of the moving leg should land on the ground. Once at the end position of the motion try performing a push up. Return back to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

It is important that you stay low to the ground, don't let your hips sag or shoot up in the air. As your hand hits the ground think about using all the joints from the fingers to the shoulder in sequence, to absorb the force.

Progressions

Crawling Spiderman

Once you have mastered the stationary spiderman try progressing onto the active crawling version. The obvious difference here is that you will be traversing the ground with a crawling motion. This is a lot more taxing anaerobically than the stationary movement. Prepare to breathe heavily and enjoy the sweat that’s coming your way!

For a little extra novelty, you can try moving across the ground on diagonals.

Explosive Spiderman

This is truly the advanced version of the movement. Revert back to the stationary description but try to explode up out of each repetition. Get the whole body off the ground and switch hip and arm positions in mid air in preparing to land.

Why?

This movement is beneficial on many levels.

As babies, crawling patterns are how we first learn to move. As adults who manage to lose so much of our movement potential, this exercise helps to integrate the upper and lower extremities in a functional opposing limb sequence.

2) Great conditioning. As I mentioned earlier, this is a great movement to include in a conditioning workout. Employing the entire body and having the upper limbs react and respond to the ground as well as the lower limbs is extremely taxing anaerobically.

3) Novelty. If you read a lot of my articles you'll know I almost always mention the brain, & the brain loves novelty. Take your time and learn this motion with precise technique to really reap the benefits.

How Many?

The sets & reps bit...well, the best advice I can give is to do as many repetitions as possible with good, precise and clean form. That basically means you are trying to maintain a long, neutral spine with minimal tension throughout your body. If your shoulders start shrugging towards your ears and you start rounding out your upper back, you’re done. In fact, learn to listen to your body and get used to terminating sets before any degradation in technique sets in. There is literally nothing beneficial to gain from poor form and technique. Remember, your body will adapt exactly to what it is asked to do. So teach it well!

When learning a new motion, frequency is important. If you’re not spending your time grinding out crap reps that make you incredibly sore you should be able to practice this movement several times per week.

Once you're up to speed, aim for some good double figures, you should really be aiming for at least 6 reps in the stationary version.

David Fleming is one of London’s top personal trainers. He is obsessed with helping people get stronger and helping people to get More-Athletic. He has studied and learned from the best strength coaches in the world. He is happily married and can lift heavy weights. His mother is very proud of him and he writes a good article.It took him until the age of 30 to pass his driving test, but other than that he is a solid chap.

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